UO.sub.2 F.sub.2 is a material which can be employed in the production of UF.sub.6 which is then subsequently used for isotope enrichment utilizing presently gaseous diffusion and/or gaseous centrifugation techniques. For example, UO.sub.2 F.sub.2 can be converted to UF.sub.6 in the following ways: ##EQU1## UO.sub.2 F.sub.2 has been made in the prior art by a number of methods. These methods include:
1. Hydrolysis of UF.sub.6 with water or steam UF.sub.6 + 2H.sub.2 O .fwdarw. UO.sub.2 F.sub.2 + 4HF PA0 2. reaction of UO.sub.3 + 2HF(gas) .fwdarw. UO.sub.2 F.sub.2 + H.sub.2 O (T = 350.degree.-500.degree. C.) PA0 3. uo.sub.3 + 2f.sub.2 .fwdarw. uo.sub.2 f.sub.2 + other products (T=350.degree. C) PA0 4. uo.sub.2 + f.sub.2 .fwdarw. uo.sub.2 f.sub.2 (t=350.degree. c.) PA0 5. uf.sub.4 + o.sub.2 .fwdarw. uf.sub.6 + uo.sub.2 f.sub.2 (t=800.degree. c.) PA0 6. uo.sub.3 or UO.sub.4.multidot. 2H.sub.2 O + HF(aqueous) .fwdarw. UO.sub.2 F.sub.2 (solutions)
A description of all of the above methods can be found in the book by Joseph J. Katz and Eugene Rabinowitch. The Chemistry of Uranium, Dover Publications, Inc., New York, N.Y., 1951, p. 564 ff. As pointed out in the text, each of the methods include problems and difficulties as discussed below.
Reaction 1, although it is spontaneous even at ambient temperatures, is not a desired reaction during production of UF.sub.6. Reaction 2-5, because of the use of elemental fluorine and/or elevated temperatures, must be carried out in very specialized apparatus to prevent contamination of the product and to contain the reaction from the surrounding environs. Likewise many of these reactions are kinetically slow at the temperatures listed and even higher temperatures are necessary to obtain reasonable quantities of product. The difficulties with method 6 are described by the following excerpt from Katz and Rabinowitch (referenced above):
"Uranyl fluoride is difficult to crystallize, very viscous syrups being formed on concentration. Even if uranyl fluoride dihydrate crystals can be induced to form, separation of the crystals from the mother liquor is usually very difficult. The crystals of uranyl fluoride dihydrate are soft thin plates, pale yellow, and so hygroscopic that it is difficult to dry them."
It would appear from the above descriptions that a low temperature, non-corrosive scheme to prepare UO.sub.2 F.sub.2 would be desirable. Also another desirable feature would be that the product should be easy to recover from the reaction media in a form that is easy to handle for subsequent manipulations and utilizations.